Help Required Pc not booting

Archive-8 · May 31, 2017

my Lenovo h520 has decided it's not going to boot up today,

When I press the power button, I should get a splash screen saying Lenovo, but it's totally blank.

The Bios doesn't beep either.

Any help please?

moonbase · May 31, 2017

Chris1979 said:
my Lenovo h520 has decided it's not going to boot up today,

When I press the power button, I should get a splash screen saying Lenovo, but it's totally blank.

The Bios doesn't beep either.

Any help please?

It might be getting stuck in the BIOS part of the boot process. Is there a set of keystrokes that you can use to access the BIOS before it tries to boot Windows, you have to be quick to catch it though as its only visible momentarily? Normally there is an option such as "Press DEL Key to Enter BIOS" before you get to the windows boot stage. If you can get to the BIOS you might be able to check for issues or even reflash a fresh BIOS from a USB stick.

Also, have you tested to see if it will boot from a bootable USB stick and bypass the Windows boot from the internal HDD?

The absence of the splash screen could indicate a dead motherboard or internal power supply fault?

Rgds

2cvbloke · May 31, 2017

Try removing & refittting the RAM, Graphis card (if fitted) and any other addon cards inside the system to see if that revives it, bad connections can cause such issues. If that doesn't do it, try resetting the BIOS (either using the "CLR_RTC" jumper, or by removing the battery with the power disconnected & pressing the power button a couple of times) and going from there...

If those don't work, could be a power supply issue, could be bad caps or could just be a goosed board...

Archive-8 · May 31, 2017

Yeah I have tried all combo of button pushes :-( still nothing. I can wake the pc via wol, but the pc is not showing in the router either.

I will have to try stripping it down.

I will see if it has a clear cmos header just as another thing to try.

Mickha · May 31, 2017

Are you running Windows 10, or other operating system?
Enter the BIOS, usually by preessing the delete key, or other, mentioned on booting up, and change the 1st boot option to CD.
Then boot from the CD and try the repair option.

Archive-8 · May 31, 2017

Yeah it's windows 10 now.

I will give it a go in a bit.

@Mickha @moonbase and @2cvbloke Thanks for all your help guys :-)

Archive-8 · May 31, 2017

@Vipersan or anyone else, my bios chip looks a bit suspicious to me.

Is that gray blob on the right of the chip.

Archive-8 · May 31, 2017

Stripped it down, and replaced the 2032 button cell, and still no bios beep or splash screen.

Terryl · May 31, 2017

Try a new power supply if you have one, are there any LEDS (usually green or yellow) on the mother board that are lit up, like close to the LAN input connector, or on it?

Is the fan spinning on the power supply? If not then it may be hosed, give the supply a sniff,(with the power off) if it smells like something is burnt you will need a new one.

One of the little tools in my service kit is a power supply tester, you just unplug the main power supply's to the mother board and one of the IDE or SATA plugs (or use a spare) and turn it on, it will tell you if the PS is dead or not.

You don't see any bulged up electrolytic caps any where near the main mother board power plug do you? If so then it's time for a new MB.

Terryl · May 31, 2017

And I think it's the F1 or F2 key you need to be tapping on when you power it up for that type of desktop.

Terryl · May 31, 2017

The little blob on the chip could just be an "I'm programmed already" mark put there to keep from being mixing up with one that is not.

Archive-8 · May 31, 2017

No leds on the board, but I can wake it via wake up on lan, but it's not visible on the network.

All the case lights and fans come on when I press the power button, the hdd's make a click type sound, cpu fan spins.

No funny smells coming from the corsair supply.

I have checked for bulging caps, they all look fine, no sign of discolouration or bulging.

I hate to say it but I think it's foobar

Terryl · May 31, 2017

Did you try the F1 or F2 keys??

And the hard drive's are clicking??? Hummmmm....

Do you have more then one?? If you have a long screwdriver you can hold the handle to your ear and touch the other end to the main "C" hard drive, (poor-mans stethoscope) if it's making a constant rapid clicking sound then maybe it's FUBAR.

Terryl · May 31, 2017

If you can't get it into the BIOS screen then it may be that something on the main mother board has gone to see the farside.

Terryl · May 31, 2017

And look at this post about clearing the CMOS by just removing the battery, you have to do one extra step.

Code:

https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Lenovo-E-H-K-M-Q-Y-and-ErazerX/H50-55-BIOS-Corruption/td-p/2140259

Mickha · May 31, 2017

Power Supply Units can partially fail, allowing certain parts to work, including the fans, and others not to, including power to the graphics card.
If you have a spare one, even one that doesn't fit, into the case, you can use it externally, to test if your PC will boot up, using the replacement PSU.
Are you using an onboard graphics card?
Does it have the option to add a dedicated graphics card?

Terryl · May 31, 2017

Thats true about the power supply's, if the +5 volts "S" is gone then the motherboard will not boot. (on some units)

Archive-8 · May 31, 2017

Mickha said:
Power Supply Units can partially fail, allowing certain parts to work, including the fans, and others not to, including power to the graphics card.
If you have a spare one, even one that doesn't fit, into the case, you can use it externally, to test if your PC will boot up, using the replacement PSU.
Are you using an onboard graphics card?
Does it have the option to add a dedicated graphics card?

I was using an add on graphics card, it took separate power from the psu.

I can probably find an old psu to try it.

Archive-8 · May 31, 2017

Terryl said:
Did you try the F1 or F2 keys??

And the hard drive's are clicking??? Hummmmm....

Do you have more then one?? If you have a long screwdriver you can hold the handle to your ear and touch the other end to the main "C" hard drive, (poor-mans stethoscope) if it's making a constant rapid clicking sound then maybe it's FUBAR.

The c drive is a solid state drive, but there is 2 more storage drives, normal type.

No bios option appears from the onboard gpu or on my plug in card.

Terryl · May 31, 2017

How old is this unit?

Also try powering up with all hard drive disconnected, when tapping on the F1 key.

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